Meatless Mondays: Truffled Cannellini Bean Mash

Happy Monday, all. Mondays might be your most sullen day of the week - but I'd bet it's also when you good intentions and sense of discipline are at their highest. Planning to exercise after work, prepare a healthy dinner at home, etc. You may have even brown-bagged your lunch today, no?

On that note, I've got a proposal you to try on Sunday or Monday nights. Let's take cannellini beans ('alubias', for the Latins among us). A quarter cup of these little kids packs about 10g of protein, 15% of your minimum daily iron needs, 4g of fiber, some calcium, a negligible amount of fat and about 130 calories. Let's say you want a more substantial meal and go with a half cup. More carbs, yes - but these are quality, low-glycemic, low-sugar carbs that will keep you energized and satiated for hours. They're a complex carb and strong source of protein that you can pair with greens or other vegetables for the proverbial 'nutritional powerhouse' - and they can taste creamy, rich and satiating. There's also theories that the higher percentage of legumes in the diet customarily associated with Hispanic women may be associated with the lower incidence of breast cancer associated with this demographic. Obviously, we want more of these in our diet.

I think you can do far better than eating your beans from a can of Goya, Eden Organic, or anyone else out there (skipping the BPA often lurking in the can's lining, foregoing any preservatives and staying as close to the natural ground they came from as possible). I think you can prepare and cook your own beans at home rather easily. And I think you can do it deliciously as a truffled cannellini bean puree that you can toss on a bed of greens, dip carrots or other vegetables into, or just slowly savor dipping and eating right off the spoon. Mmm, naughty.

So here's how you do it:

• Prep (enough for 2 people, or about 2-3 servings for yourself): 
• Scoop 1 cup dry cannellini beans. I like Idaho's Zursun beans (grown in the US), but you can try other brands.  
• Add enough water to cover the beans, and then some. You'll be letting them soak overnight or while you're at work, and they WILL expand - so be generous with the water.

• Cook:
• After soaking for at least 5 hours, drain the beans with a sieve
• Place the drained beans (should have expanded from how you first found them) into a pot, and fill generously with water. Get ready to boil those kids on your stovetop.
• Bring to a boil and let cook at high heat for about 20 minutes. You want them tender and easy to cream.
• Dress 'em up:
• Here's the fun part. Once boiled, transfer the tender beans into an empty bowl or other glass container (they'll be hot). And get ready to mash the *#$% out of them. Really put your weight into it. Cream 'em.
• Add 2 tablespoons black truffle oil, salt and ground pepper to taste. I love white truffle salt from The Filling Station. Mad versatile - I use this on eggs, salads, pasta, faro, etc. And it lasts for months. But you can also use regular sea salt, and the black truffle oil will be sufficient to add that incomparable flavor.
• Once you're satisfied with the texture (this is up to you), cover and refrigerate. It'll fare well for 2-3 days or so.
• Eat:
• This paste is delicious, and extremely versatile. You can expect to get at least 1 - 1.5 servings each if you cooked for 2, or 2-3 if for yourself.
• Spread it on bread, dip carrots into it, toss it on greens or eat by itself; I promise this will taste like an indulgent, satiating lunch - but will actually be pretty damn good for you.

Enjoy! Would love to hear if you try it, and what you think of it.

- P

In Season: The Elusive (Baby) Artichoke

One oft-lauded theory I try to practice is eating produce that is in-season (and preferably, local). Sounds simple enough, but figuring out exactly what's in season and what isn't can be tricky when so much produce at our markets is imported (or worse - genetically modified to grow year-round). Stumbling onto this infographic was a God-send - visual, clear, simple. I've saved the images to my iPhone for easy reference at the store; might help you, too.

Which brings me to a rather polarizing Spring vegetable: artichokes! I thought I was relatively fearless in the kitchen, but seriously - every time I see these thorny little kids at the market, I turn my gaze downwards and stroll past them, hoping they won't recognize my shame. I know they're delicious when cooked a la Romana, amazing steamed and drizzled with olive oil, and loaded with nutrition. According to Organic Authority, they're a 'super source' of fiber, Vitamin C, magnesium, iron and potassium, and known for their antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which support eye health. They're considered detoxifying (a liver-cleanser), a diuretic, a digestive aid and lower cholesterol. So what's not to love and OD on while they're in season? The fact that they're intimidating as hell to prepare - at least to the novice (me).

So, I went for a 10-mile bike ride (it's a mind-blowing beautiful Spring day in Manhattan - 60s - so the whole city is in heat), and came home energized to do this. I bought baby artichokes (smaller, faster to cook, and you can eat the heart whole, unlike regular artichokes). I wanted them crispy vs. soggy, so I decided I'd experiment with an 'a la Romana' variation (read: not fried and quick to prepare). So here's what I did:

1. Prepare: 1 large bowl with ice and the juice of half a lemon; toss in the used lemon slices
2. Clean: Wash them. Then cut off the stem and the top layer of the baby artichokes, removing all the thorny ends and outer leaves. See this for detailed reference. While the recommendation was to remove any leaves with purple, I decided to keep some of them on because I actually enjoy the crispier, firm texture of the outside layers. Plus, I wanted protection from their becoming soggy. This was my choice (for better or worse), but you can chuck any leaves with purple.
3. Protect (from browning): As I finished cleaning each choke, I'd quarter it and immediately add it to the bowl in step 1 
4. Cook: Heated a great ceramic pan (medium heat) with 1 tbsp olive oil and finely chopped garlic. I used a couple of cloves, but this is entirely up to you. Shook the water out of the artichoke quarters, and tossed them onto the pan. Added more lemon juice and truffle salt gradually, lowered the heat a bit, and cooked them for about 10-15 minutes at lower heat. I like them a bit crispy, so that was sufficient for me.

And voila: the finished product is photographed.

The verdict: Very tasty (the olive oil, lemon and truffle salt complemented them perfectly). Crispy and chewy on the exterior (granted - I like them a bit burnt). Creamier as you get closer to the middle. And the intimidation factor is gone. I can cut and prepare baby artichokes. But this was only strike 1 - I'll continue experimenting with these until I land on the perfect degree of crispiness to honor the Romans' intention. Stay tuned for that one.

Have a great weekend!

- P

Picking out the real food from the junk at the supermarket

I'm a big fan of Darya Rose's blog, Summer Tomato. Straight-up, science-based advice on what to eat - and it boils down to REAL food. The kind that grows from the ground, grazes pasture or swims in the sea. The kind of food that lacks a barcode. I love this take on how to navigate the grocery store - keeping it real on how to pick real food. Word.

Welcome to Slim Pickings (by Paloma)

Hi, all. I decided to start this blog with a personal mission in mind: to show you that you can take control of your health, how you feel and look by taking control of what you eat - and cooking it yourself. For the hedonist in us all - cooking well and delectably can be easy, fast and feel good when you get your hands dirty.

On Slim Pickings (by Paloma), you can expect easy recipes inspired by no more than 5 fresh, real ingredients you can find easily, information on what makes each ingredient beneficial to you...and a lot of food porn. You can expect a balance of art and science, instinct and logic. And, at the expense of repetition - you can expect it to be easy. We've all got day jobs.

 A little about me: like many before and after me, my enjoyment of food turned into a passionate, 'hurt-so-good' relationship the day I moved to Manhattan. New York is a city of excess - and that applies to food, wine and dining out (among other things). As is typical of New York, I was 'too busy' to cook, and was picking what I falsely believed were 'healthy' foods ("multi-grain!" "low-glycemic!") manufactured with ingredients including corn syrup, corn solids, unidentified GMOs, or too many ingredients ending in '-ate'. Ultimately, my athletic curves became too soft for my comfort (despite Spinning 5 times a week), and my health became hampered by digestive issues. My 'healthy'' lifestyle looked too 'curvy' and felt too acidic and painful. I got fed up.

I was peripherally aware of the dangers of food with a barcode, the state of the food industry and the importance of food combinations for proper digestion. But that high-level awareness hadn't translated into behavior change. So I dove into articles, blogs, research and documentaries, was inspired by multiple recipes (thank you, Pinterest) and ultimately started playing around in the kitchen. Today, I eat a maximum of two meals out a week, experience no digestive issues, feel (and look) fantastic, and live like a bon-vivant in my own kitchen, inviting loved ones over to share delicious meals (and wine) together. I pack my own lunch almost daily, and have a few of you asking me to be your personal chef (I'll work for travel :)

 So that's my pitch. Clearly, there's a multitude of food blogs, recipes and articles out there. But if it were that easy to digest (pun intended) and act on, fewer of us would be fighting with our weight and dealing with mystery digestive issues. And you'd feel a lot less intimidated by getting into your kitchen instead of getting take-out. So these here Slim Pickings will make it easy, transparent and delicious for you take some control and have fun in the kitchen. Look out for the first one on Monday!

 - Paloma